mylighthouse

I tried my sugar free hot oatmeal, but I've only had it once. It is a waste in my opinion. TOO MANY CARBS! I'm 9 weeks post op.

One of the first things I started (and I asked my nutritionist about it first), was steak. My daughter and her hubby were coming over Christmas Eve and my husband planned to cook out steaks. I was JUST at regular foods stage. I had no problem at all. I cut it into tiny pieces and took my time. I did real well with it. I also made twice baked potatoes with sour cream (light) and cheese, so I had that along with the steak. No problems at all. Ate about 2 oz steak and a few bites of twice baked potato. I am currently at 9 weeks post op. I have to say, there is nothing that I haven't tolerated well since my surgery. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

I am not too far along in this journey.... only 9 weeks post op, but I have read a lot of advice on here about carbs and losing weight. From what I understand, you need to keep your carbs under 50 grams a day and maybe that will help you lose some weight. Some people even say lowering them a lot more than that is good. So I am wondering if you are keeping them below 100 grams a day, but over 50 grams, might be contributing to the fact that you are not losing anymore. Also, getting over 64 ounces of liquids is so important.

I am 9 weeks post op. But, when I was 4 weeks post op, yes, I did have a hard time getting 2 ounces of food in me. I just wasn't very hungry at all. I remember that I was only getting in about 450 calories a day. The most important things though, were that I was getting in all of my 64 oz liquids, plus some. And, that I was getting in plenty of Protein, mainly through Protein shakes and unflavored Protein powder added to food and drinks.

Hello, I am also on medication for hypothyroidism (levothyroxin) and bipolar disorder. I take an anti-anxiety med, an anti-depressant, a mood stabilizer and an anti-psychotic med. I have lost 63 pounds since June. About 4 weeks after my surgery (which was Nov 14), I had a check up with my psychiatrist. I told him that I had been feeling a lot more tired lately (which in part was probably the surgery itself), but he also told me that when you lose a good amount of weight, it will make you tired, and also that I could come down on some of the dosages of my medications due to the weight loss. The meds he cut back on were my anti psychotic and my anti anxiety med. He left my anti depressant the same for now and also didn't change the mood stabilizer. So far so good with the changes and that was about 4 weeks ago. I will have bloodwork done in two months for my thyroid, and then I'll find out whether or not my doctor will make changes to my thyroid medication dosage.

@@SusieSouth Hello! Yes, we really do have similar stats! So glad to hear that you didn't have any pain and not much gas either. My surgery pain has been gone for a few weeks now, and I am feeling a lot better and I have a lot more energy than I had a few weeks ago. Like you, I have the flab on my arms, and I've been lifting light (5 lb) weights to try and help with that. Also, the pain from my incisional hernia has been at a minimum lately, which has allowed me to walk quite a bit more. I got back to using my treadmill a couple of weeks ago, and I'm really pleased about that. I am like you with the weight loss too... not losing more than a couple of pounds a week. My biggest weight loss came pre-op and also the first 2 weeks after surgery. I'm not worried about it at all, but I have to say it would be nice to drop it a little quicker. Great job in keeping up with your Water, Protein and Vitamins... same here, making sure I am on top of all of those things. I am just about 11 days ahead of you, but I am getting in quite a bit more in calories these days. I find that I can eat about an ounce more of meat (mainly chicken) at my lunch and dinner meals than I could 2 weeks ago. I also discovered hunger for the first time again a few weeks ago. I have been REALLY hungry when it's time for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I still have Snacks too. One snack time is late morning... a couple of hours after breakfast... and my other snack time is mid afternoon... a few hours after lunchtime. I usually have some kind of protein like string mozarella cheese and several almonds for a snack. Yesterday I tried some white bean hummus that I found at the grocery store. What about you Susie? Are you snacking at all? How many meals a day do you get in? Are you still supplementing protein intake with Protein shakes or by adding unflavored protein to food or drink? I will still have a bit of a Premier Protein shake or some unflavored protein added to a drink each day. I have been keeping my protein intake at about 90 grams a day, thinking that it might help with the weight loss. It's great to talk with you and I'm glad you are doing well.

Good to hear that your surgery went well and that your doctor found the hernia and took care of it for you. Congratulations on your surgery and I wish you a speedy recovery.

It does take a little while to get used to it, but I didn't cheat at all. I stuck right with the pre-op diet plan and I am so glad that I did! Even though I stuck with the plan, I still had this fear in my mind that they weren't going to be able to do my surgery because my liver might be too large. Ridiculous some of the things that I worried about. Stick to your pre-op plan, you will be glad you did!

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I wanted to try a little salad and my nutritionist suggested waiting 7-8 weeks post op and starting slowly with it. So that's what I did.... started about a week and a half ago and started slowly.... not a problem at all. Now I have been enjoying romaine lettuce salads and Italian blend salad greens with grape tomatoes on top.... with my chicken and Waldenfarm's calorie free sesame ginger dressing. YUM! I am so glad that I am tolerating lettuce well. Next I want to try cucumbers. Sorry to hear that many of you are unable to tolerate salad.

I agree with everything Munky said. If you are on a liquid diet, then you need to follow it. It's as simple as that. I did it. Others have done it. If you really want this surgery to work, then you will do it NOW.

Please don't be so discouraged... it will get better! I have been having stalls off and on since my 2nd week post-op and I am now almost 9 weeks out. I either don't lose weight from week to week, or I lost 1 or 2 pounds. It is definitely frustrating, but I think it will pass.

You typed "premium" but I believe you meant "Premier". Also, Premier Protein shakes have 30 grams protein in one 11 oz shake. They are really good. That's what I have had since my pre-op diet and after surgery. I'm over 8 weeks post-op. I think Premier would be a really good choice for you... seems like it would be better than Atkins.

Congratulations! You can really see the weight loss in your face... you look younger now! Keep up the awesome work!

Have had several "stalls" since surgery. For the past 5 weeks I either stall or lose no more than 1-2 pounds. I'm hypothyroid and on synthroid.

Wow! What an amazing transformation! You look beautiful! You're an inspiration... thank you for sharing with us!

I was struggling with daily life... activities... everything was such a chore because I was so overweight. I was already seeing my surgeon and had been for 2 years. Two years ago I had a colon resection which landed me in the hospital for 2 whole months. Recovery time was so slow in part because of the fact that I weighed over 300 pounds. After that surgery, I lost weight and made it down to 278. I felt quite a bit better, but I wound up gaining the weight back plus some and my new high weight became 334 pounds. I was still seeing my surgeon at that time (6 months after my colon surgery), because I still had an opening (hole) in my stomach that just wouldn't heal up. I was still dealing with a lot of pain. Finally, nine months after that surgery the hole in my tummy closed. But it still hurt to move... .and I couldn't exercise because of it. The weight wasn't moving no matter how hard I tried to lose it. Then, I developed 2 incisional hernias that sent me to the ER 4 times within a 4 month period. My surgeon finally asked me would I consider WLS. I said I had thought about it, but I didn't think my insurance would cover it. We looked into it, and my insurance covered it. So that was what made my mind up. I was ready. Besides, my surgeon cannot do the hernia surgery until I lose 100 pounds. So that was some really good motivation. Now I am down 64 pounds since he told me I needed to lose 100 pounds. I only have 40 pounds to go, and then I can get these painful hernias fixed. Plus, I am feeling a lot better in general and am even able to exercise for the first time in years! Woohoo! I have no regrets at all about getting the sleeve.

Darn right it's a good thing! I can really identify with you on this! Keep up the awesome work and thanks for sharing.

As the others said, shakes and all other drinks, Jello and broth all count towards your 64 oz liquid intake a day. That's what my nutritionist told me. With all that, I get in mostly decaf tea. I am not a big Water drinker, but do get some in during the day (about 20 oz). With all my liquids, I get about 78 oz in a day.

My tastes changed right after surgery. Before surgery I liked Powerade Zero and afterwards, I couldn't handle it. The same with Crystal Light lemonade and the vanilla Premier Protein shakes. I still enjoy chocolate though. As far as foods go... nothing really for me... except for Waldenfarms Caesar salad dressing. Can't handle it now.

You're doing great! The weight loss comes to a standstill for all of us.... I just came off over a month of stalling one week, losing a pound or two the next.... then stalling again.... back and forth. This is the first week in 5 weeks that I have lost more than 2 pounds. Looking good... keep up the hard work, it shows!

My nutritionist said we could have coffee between 4-6 weeks out of surgery. I was doing decaf until about a week ago. Just started having a couple cups of regular coffee a few days ago on a regular basis, and my bowel movements have finally returned to normal.... which is great, because before that I was constipated all the time. Yay too regular coffee... if you're allowed it!

I didn't laugh or snicker.... those weren't stupid questions!

Oh no! So sorry to hear that you have an infection with the hematoma and have been in the hospital 10 days. I developed a hematoma after surgery too, but it didn't lead to an infection... it cleared up on it's own and thankfully I didn't have complications that landed me back in the hospital. I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!

Although losing weight on the 2 week pre-op diet was nice for me, that is not what the goal of the pre-op diet is. The goal is to shrink the liver. So don't get discouraged that you aren't losing much weight. It really doesn't matter, and it certainly doesn't mean that you're not going to lose weight and do well after the sleeve surgery.

Looking good! Glad you're feeling good too. Keep up the great work!